OBJECTIVES

Although the definition of postpartum depression (PPD) varies, several sources define PPD as depression with onset during pregnancy or during a period of time after childbirth (up to 1 year). The objective of this systematic review was to identify and evaluate the most recent literature describing the humanistic burden of PPD on affected women as well as their children and partners.

METHODS

A systematic review conforming to the PRISMA Statement of Medline, Embase, PsycInfo, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and several congresses was conducted in February 2017. Disease search terms included "postpartum depression", "postnatal depression", and "peripartum depression". Large (N>300) interventional or observational studies of women with PPD aged ≥ 15 years were included if they were published in or after 2012 and assessed quality of life using established questionnaires or tools and/or downstream effects of PPD on mothers and their other family members, such as bonding behaviors, child development, depression among partners, and relationship conflict.

RESULTS

Two independent researchers screened 953 unique articles, identifying 37 studies that met criteria and were included in this review. Data from 26 studies suggested a negative association between PPD symptoms and elements of parenting and childhood development such as breastfeeding, parenting behaviors, infant eating/sleeping behaviors, mother–infant bonding, and neurocognitive development. Furthermore, 5 studies evaluating the effects of PPD on partners suggested that relationships were negatively affected; for example, discord was higher among couples where mothers suffered from PPD symptoms, and partners of affected women experienced greater levels of their own stress, anxiety, and depression compared with partners of non-depressed women.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a considerable body of literature suggesting that PPD has a substantial humanistic burden on affected mothers as well as on their children and partners.